Etymology studies linguistic change.
Etymology is a linguistic specialty that studies the origin of words by considering their existence, meaning and form. The term comes from the Latin etymologia , which in turn has its origins in a Greek word.
Specifically, etymology analyzes how a word is incorporated into a language , what its source is, and how its forms and meanings vary over time . Comparative linguistics allows us to reconstruct the history of those ancient languages that did not leave direct records, such as written texts, for example. Etymology, in these cases, is based on the knowledge provided by comparative linguistics to infer issues related to vocabulary.
Importance of etymology
By studying etymology, it is possible to increase understanding of the precise meaning of words, expand vocabulary , and perfect spelling. It is important to keep in mind that languages undergo an inevitable evolution, which results in words undergoing modifications and adapting to each historical moment in which they are used: it should be noted that these changes are not always positive or constructive. The meaning that a word had a century ago may be very different from what it currently has and the same may occur in the future, until the term, for certain reasons, is no longer considered current or necessary for communication.
Etymological studies indicate that Spanish is a Romance language (a series of Indo-European languages that derive from Vulgar Latin) and that its promoters were the Romans around the year 200 BC. C. Spanish words, in any case, have diverse sources ; We have terms that come from Arabic ( “ojalá” ), Catalan ( “paella” ), Greek ( “athletics” ), French ( “pants” ) and English ( “leader” ), among many other languages. These are terms that were adapted by the Spanish language until they became their own.
Analyzing the etymology of a term is useful for interpreting its meaning.
The history of words
The etymology of words hides stories and secrets that help strengthen the ties that exist, or should exist, between the person and the language. Many times in their “family trees” there are very revealing surprises, at least for people who have never approached a language on this intimate level. For example, discovering that numerous English terms come from Latin is curious at first, especially considering the differences in spelling , phonetics and intonation that at first glance separate this language from Spanish or Italian.
The English term "accurate" , for example, means precise, worked with great care, well finished, exact, rigorous; At first glance, taking the Spanish words given to define it, it seems that it had no relationship with our language, which we know is closely related to Latin. However, in its etymology we find the Latin term accuratus , which is very little different from the first and has a practically the same meaning .
Etymology contributes to the precise use of synonyms and antonyms.
Why study etymology
With respect to the benefits that the study of etymology can bring to a person, regardless of the mere pleasure of acquiring a deep knowledge of a language, whether one's own or a foreign one, there is an indelible and incomparable impact when knowing the past, the origin of a term, the stories it has lived and the numerous lands it has visited until reaching our vocabulary today. This impacts our responsibility as users of words; Once this information is acquired, we can no longer treat language as a random combination of letters and sounds, but must respect it as an invaluable legacy that humanity has sculpted over centuries.
In some way, just as reviewing people's family trees is fascinating for many, there is a similar feeling when searching for the background of words, a thirst to reveal their pasts and understand why they have that morphology , those sounds , to understand finally that they have not been assigned to him capriciously.
Science vs. tradition
It is interesting to distinguish between scientific etymology and popular etymology . The first is a discipline associated with philology , comparative linguistics and semantics that investigates the composition of words, studying each root , prefix , suffix , etc., to understand diachronically how words evolved. It can be said, therefore, that it examines the lexicon from a scientific perspective to contribute to the understanding of the meaning of the terms and optimize spelling, among other issues.
Popular etymology , on the other hand, offers an explanation of the origins of words by resorting to tradition. His method is not scientific, but is based on similar sounds.
Examples of etymology
All words have an etymological origin, so the examples of etymology that can be mentioned are numerous. There are terms with a long etymological history and others with a simpler past.
Let's take the case of "cadet" . The etymology indicates that it comes from the French cadet , which in turn derives from the Gascon capdet . This word, for its part, comes from the late Latin capitellum . If we think of "table" , however, it is a direct derivation of the Latin mensa .
The etymology of a concept can even refer to a phrase. "Hopefully," for example, comes from the Hispanic Arabic expression law šá lláh , which can be translated as "if God wills." If we study the origin of "laser" , we find the English laser , an acronym for (l)ight (a)mplification by (s)timulated (e)mission of (r)adiation .